(Solved) Help needed - multiple comms issues - Connext went haywire - 2015 242ltd s

[cyclops]

2015 242 Limited S

Today at the beach, we were there for about three hours with stereo running. Stereo itself was aftermarket wetsounds upgrade and runs on a different bank than house. Normally can run for 8 hours with no problem. House battery and starting battery are 1.25 years old.

I came back to the boat and the master alarm was going off. SPU25 comm error. Joystick comm error. GPS comm error. Depth comm error. Battery voltage read 11v and then jumped up to 12.5 volts. Weird stuff. Connext cycled thru multiple comms issues and sounding various alarms. Would not allow me to control volume but stereo was running. Polk remote just said POLK. After multiple house/start switch "power cycles" of the boat, I eventually put it in emergency parallel and GTFO the island and back home.

Boat drove fine home. No engine issues, but the port tachometer was jumping all over the place. Eventually, everything settled down, with exception of the depth error. The transducer now seems inoperable; no temp, depth etc. and master alarm sounds every few minutes.

I had out of town family on the boat and go figure...it's ran fine all year but now this at the end of the season. Any idea what happened?

I'm about to order a new port tachometer (I hear it is integral to CAN bus operation somehow?), a new starboard to match it since they are a little hard to see thru and replacing one makes sense to do both, and of course, a new depth transducer.

But why!?!?!?

[HASH=6280]#help[/HASH] [HASH=6281]#helpneeded[/HASH]

 

[cyclops]

Batteries read normal voltages 12.6V+ when I made it back to the dock and put a voltmeter on them

Strangely the house actually read 13v... but I am guessing the starting battery charged the F out of it or it was just surface charge...

 

[Mesa50]

Intermittent electrical issues are the worst. Hey everyone!!!! Any electrical experts with help for cyclops?????

 

[Inthrustwetrust]

Sounds like a loose connection somewhere or a ground that isn’t making good contact. I would start at the batteries and work your way back to the battery switches and everywhere else. That battery voltage jump would be the clue I would use to start. Anything under 12 ish volts and the computer becomes not happy.

 

[cyclops]

Sounds like a loose connection somewhere or a ground that isn’t making good contact. I would start at the batteries and work your way back to the battery switches and everywhere else. That battery voltage jump would be the clue I would use to start. Anything under 12 ish volts and the computer becomes not happy.

I wish it were still doing it.. not sure how to diagnose an issue that’s intermittent and really don’t want to wait for the next family outing to find out it’s not fixed :/

Only thing I’m left with is a dead transponder

I’ll check all the connections I can find tho

…and all the fuses I can find

Anyone know where the negative batteries’ “ground” is? I assume there’s a connection to the engine block. I found one cable connecting two engine mounts together but haven’t yet found where the battery grounds to the engine

 

[Cambo]

How are the batteries hooked up some type of automatic charging relay ?
Do you run an onboard dual bank charger after running the stereo for long times if so what type ?

There was info posted about the 242xe having the volt meters hooked up incorrectly this model came from the factory with two batteries did yours ?

 

[cyclops]

How are the batteries hooked up some type of automatic charging relay ?
Do you run an onboard dual bank charger after running the stereo for long times if so what type ?

There was info posted about the 242xe having the volt meters hooked up incorrectly this model came from the factory with two batteries did yours ?

Two noco genius chargers connected direct to batteries. One 5x2 for my two group 24’s, 10x2s for my two group 31s. One 110 shore power that gets plugged in upon return to pier (and not unplugged until next outing). They are smart chargers and maintainers you’re probably already familiar with.

Noteworthy, there was a brownout in the neighborhood one day before these symptoms were noted for the first time ever. Only 25v on 110v lines on Friday, then these issues Saturday. Coincidence??

 

[Cambo]

My guess is that you had some type of low battery issue could have been form the brown out . You may be getting false readings on your dash and have the similar issue that the 242xe had. Both dash meters reading the same battery bank but showing different voltages due to the location that the voltage reading is being picked up. Voltage drop to the meter is a quick way to tell when you start the motor do you see one of the readings drop as the starter spins. Keep a meter on board if this happens again measure the voltage dont rely on the dash.

 

[cyclops]

Here's a recording of the issue I was able to capture today. House battery voltage, steady at 12.54V as verified with separate voltmeter.
I did another test after this tonight, where I ran the blower fan as well. It was cutting out at the same time. I wonder, what is central to serving up all of these? The SPU, "control switch" F3F-U8353-00-00?

 

[Cambo]

Trying the easiest things first by any chance did you check the accessory battery bank? If that bank had low voltage and you accidentally had one of the cables hooked to it that energizes the connext that would eliminate the batteries as the potential problem . Also bump the starters to double check that the screen is showing the correct voltage reading for each battery bank as the stater spins it will drop the voltage use the meter and the dash gauge for each bank you will need your first mate to help to many things to see and do at once the voltage drop is very short due to the quick motor start up.

Next I would start unplugging every connector on the boat and applying a very thin coating of die electric grease to every pin. When you get to items like the GPS antenna, depth gauge, blower motor, bilge pump , lights try to see if any of those items while unplugged eliminate your issue.

Next a trip to the dealer

Last item maybe a call to your insurance company let them know that your boat was in a severe rain storm with nearby lighting strikes and that the next day the electronics were blown out. That its also documented by the power disruption brown out.

 

[Julian]

@cyclops very strange behavior indeed. @Cambo mentions lightning....was the boat near a strike or is he kidding?

I'd do as many have already suggested. Get the house battery tested for load charge (most auto supply stores will do this free). Check all your connections at the batteries....tighten everything down. Then I'd focus on drying/cleaning the tach and SPU connections.

 

[Cambo]

@cyclops very strange behavior indeed. @Cambo mentions lightning....was the boat near a strike or is he kidding?

Just read the thread again post #7 mentioned brown out I just associated that with lighting but it didn’t mention lightning thought it did . What caused the brown out? it’s really hard to go after electric service suppliers for damage

 

[cyclops]

@cyclops very strange behavior indeed. @Cambo mentions lightning....was the boat near a strike or is he kidding?

I'd do as many have already suggested. Get the house battery tested for load charge (most auto supply stores will do this free). Check all your connections at the batteries....tighten everything down. Then I'd focus on drying/cleaning the tach and SPU connections.

There actually have been nearby lightning strikes but I’m not saying that’s what it was. Certainly no lightning strikes in my harbor that I’m aware of.

The brown out was caused by line work occurring up the road.

I have checked and reseated all connections multiple times but I’ll do just that and look into cleaning and applying dielectric grease.

 

[cyclops]

Thanks all. With your help, I might have figured it out. It wasn’t a voltage issue but it may have been a resistance issue. Do me a favor and rate the plausibility of this explanation on a scale of 1 to 10:

Corrosion on house neg/ground leads restricted electrical current flow by creating higher than tolerable resistance. The symptoms that were observed to include low current warnings in system diagnostics, auxiliary CAN bus dropouts, were directly resultant of this.

Possible cause: a friend unknowingly throwing saltwater-soaked life jackets into the battery compartment about a month ago.

 

[Cambo]

9 yes this could have been the issue @Inthrustwetrust sounds like he nailed it. Did you clean up the terminals and now it’s working normally? I had this happen on a car in my twenties the car would just click as if the battery was dead cleaned up the terminals then it started perfectly.

 

[Mainah]

Resistance will have a far greater impact or canbus when within the actual canbus wiring loop/terminations. That said loose or corroded connections are never good. Connext canbus is sensitive to even a moderate voltage drop. Even a single bad cell in a battery may cause this which is why a load test is still a good idea given circumstances. The bad battery ground could also be to blame. Bear in mind that resistance does directly and proportionally impact voltage (Ohms Law).

I would also check the small fuse box in the battery compartment. Fuses and resistors are in this box and some are related to the canbus. If any resistors or fuses in that got corroded replace them for sure.

I recommend trying one thing at a time so you know for sure what it was.

We wrap wet life jackets around our tower while still out on the water. Makes for quick access, helps the dry, and obvious that we have life jackets on board to anyone checking. Once putting the boat away they get hung on hangers in the head.

Good luck.

 

[cyclops]

Resistance will have a far greater impact or canbus when within the actual canbus wiring loop/terminations. That said loose or corroded connections are never good. Connext canbus is sensitive to even a moderate voltage drop. Even a single bad cell in a battery may cause this which is why a load test is still a good idea given circumstances. The bad battery ground could also be to blame. Bear in mind that resistance does directly and proportionally impact voltage (Ohms Law).

I would also check the small fuse box in the battery compartment. Fuses and resistors are in this box and some are related to the canbus. If any resistors or fuses in that got corroded replace them for sure.

I recommend trying one thing at a time so you know for sure what it was.

We wrap wet life jackets around our tower while still out on the water. Makes for quick access, helps the dry, and obvious that we have life jackets on board to anyone checking. Once putting the boat away they get hung on hangers in the head.

Good luck.

I will have it load tested. It might be an issue as well.

I don’t know of a small fuse box in the battery compartment. There are two individual 20A fuses there which are individually sealed and located above the battery switches. No corrosion.

I use the wet locker for storage of wet things and never ever store anything in the battery compartment. In this case, a friend threw the wet life jackets in the battery compartment when I wasn’t on the boat to advise otherwise. He and others will be cautioned for future as well as will probably make a sign that you see as soon as you open that compartment.

 

[cyclops]

Alright, I'm 90% sure it's the transducer. BTW, start and house batteries tested good today, with both above printed CCA ratings.

Re-wired the batteries good and tight and cleaned up all the connectors. Put the boat in the water for sunset cruise; all good. Returned to the lift, some water had collected in the bilge which settled toward the back as the boat raised up on the lift (I have my lift a little higher at the bow end so as to move water towards the back toward the bilge pumps). Instantly the lights started flashing, joystick, etc. and errors left and right on the Connext were displayed just as shown in my video previously. I popped open the engine hatch, disconnected the transducer. Sure enough, everything went back to normal (except depth comm error of course). Plugged it back in, everything starts going haywire. Disconnected again, good to go. Repeated a few times and it happened every time.

I'm inclined to say my transducer is shorting out and taking the CAN bus down with it. It was replaced just 1.5 years ago, by my "local" Yamaha dealership 2 hours away. Yamaha parts warranty is only 1 year.. Don't want to spend $500 on another cruddy transducer... anyone have recommendations for one that works better than the thru hull that comes stock (F2D-U8K1W-01-00)? I don't care if it's also $500, I just want it to actually work, and this one never really read depths well.

 

[Cambo]

When you get to items like the GPS antenna, depth gauge, blower motor, bilge pump , lights try to see if any of those items while unplugged eliminate your issue.

Looks like my suggestion would have figured out your issue great info for the forum . My boat came with a plug for the transducer and my original thought for this items is that water could collect in the housing and as it sits over the winter it could freeze and cause damage. Do you live in an area that has freezing conditions? For the transducer There’s has been some chatter about the airmar DT820PV fitting but the connector needs to be removed and hard wired in. No members that we know of have tried this because both the Yamaha $540 unit and airmar are back ordered until next year.

 

[cyclops]

Looks like my suggestion would have figured out your issue great info for the forum

yep.. only reason I wasn’t able to is that when the transducer dries out, everything works fine again. By that point I was onward toward the battery terminals